Gavin
Brooks is foremost a landscape painter best known
for atmospheric landscape compositions of coastal themes
and pastoral vistas. Layering years of drawing and classical
atelier training with a contemporary painting approach
she emerged with a unique style where luminosity and abstraction
are united in a broad range of sophisticated compositions.
The emphasis blends spirited brushwork,
strong design, tonal unity and the decisive use of neutrals
to support color relationships. Gavin is driven by a pursuit
for an elegant and modern presentation of emotional content
in nature. “I especially like humidity, weather and miles
of air for the effects contrast and color in the outdoors.”
Rather than identifying herself as a plein
air painter the artist considers her outdoor paintings
as simply the foundation material for in-depth studio works.
In front of the big easel, she is driven by her vision
for statement, referring to a series of small panels “blocked
in” to record the color and value relationships she wants
to build upon. With these, Gavin focuses on a process she
calls “reconstruction”. There is a fondness for areas of
abstraction as she reorganizes reality by rearranging the
elements; creating deeper perspective, forcing lines, controlling
information and creating mood through deliberate editing
and selection. The studio works are often a combination
of impastos over glazes of thinner paint and layers of
color. She relies on a highly developed visual memory and
attention to nature through years of observation and understanding.
My paintings are of nature broken down and simplified.
I distinguish which details and nuances to include and
even these are redesigned and altered to deliver a single
moment ”
She lives and works in the Greenspring
Valley area of Maryland with her family. She travels extensively
to exhibit, teach, lecture and study the landscape throughout
the year. Her works are in private collections and galleries
nationwide. |
